The Independent View: NYS Redistricting Update

In a blow to Senate Republicans today, New York Supreme Court Judge Eugene Devine ruled that the law ending prison-based gerrymandering in the Little v. LATFOR lawsuit to have prisoners in state facilities be counted at their last known address prior to incarceration is, in fact, constitutionally legal.

The defendants in the lawsuit were government bodies charged with carrying out the new law called Part XX: the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR), and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). The New York State Attorney General’s office represented DOCCS.

The state redistricting commission is already redrawing legislative districts by following Part XX. But if Senate Republicans overturn the law, prisoners could again be counted as living in their prison communities for the redistricting due to be completed in 2012. Where prisoners are counted would affect representation and which party controls the Senate, as well as the levels of some state and federal aid for communities.

Since New York State is losing two congressional seats, every remaining district needs to grow to represent 717,708 people. But many districts are short of this number. So incumbents would want the increase to support their interest but independents want it to be fair and maintain ethnic and racial communities of interest. To increase these problems, some of New York City boroughs: Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), and New York (Manhattan) falls under Section Five of the Voting Rights Act and will require preclearance from the Justice Department.